1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a dried lactic acid bacteria composition comprising lactic acid bacteria and alginate.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are some methods available for the long-term preservation of lactic acid bacteria, including those which consist of cold storing the microbes covered with liquid paraffin after passage on maintenance media or of cold storing them after they have been suspended in dried skim milk and then lyophilized. In these methods, which are designed to preserve the microbes over a long period of time, the microbes are reanimated before use by being subjected to the process of passage on restoration media. Microbes used for microbioassay must be highly viable. Those preserved by conventional methods require various preparatory procedures which are too sophisticated and time-consuming to promptly serve the practical purpose.